As a First Prize winner of the XIII George Enescu International Piano Competition in Bucharest (founded in 1958 and won by legendary pianists such as Radu Lupu, Elisabeth Leonskaja, and Dmitri Alexeev), the XV José Iturbi International Piano Competition and the First European Union Piano Competition, held in Prague, Spanish pianist Josu De Solaun has been invited to perform in distinguished concert series throughout the world, having made notable appearances in Bucharest (Romanian Athenaeum), Venice (Teatro La Fenice), Saint Petersburg (Mariinsky Theatre), Washington, DC (Kennedy Center), New York (Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Opera), Princeton (Taplin Hall), London (Southbank Centre), Paris (Salle Cortot), Leipzig (Schumann Haus), Taipei (Novel Hall), Mexico City (Sala Silvestre Revueltas), Prague (Nostitz Palace), Rome (Academia de España), Menton (Festival International de Musique), and all major cities of Spain. He is the only pianist from Spain to win the Enescu and Iturbi competitions in their respective histories, and was recently invited to a private reception with the King and Queen of Spain at the Royal Palace after winning the coveted Bucharest prize.

Beginning at a young age, he has performed in France, Georgia, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Canada, Germany, Japan, China, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands, Mexico, Chile, and Switzerland as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist, playing under conductors such as Constantin Orbelian, Ormsby Wilkins, Ilarion Ionescu-Galati, Robert Houlihan, Karl Sollak, Marco de Prosperis, Alvise Casellati, Ovidiu Balan, Horia Andreescu, Radu Postavaru, Christian Badea, Bruno Aprea, Ramón Tébar, Justus Frantz, Francesco Angelico, Yaron Traub, Max Bragado, Paul Daniel, Ryan Haskins, Theodore Kuchar, Constantine Orbelian, Jonathan Pasternack, Yuri Krasnapolsky, Ormsby Wilkins, Alexis Soriano, Francisco Valero, and Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, among others, as well with orchestras such as the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra of Saint Petersburg, Orchestra Filarmonica la Fenice of Venice, George Enescu Philharmonic of Bucharest, Timisoara Philharmonic, Ploiesti Philharmonic, Iasi Philharmonic, Targu Mures Philharmonic, Satu Mare Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, Orquesta de Valencia, Rudolf Barshai Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, Monterey Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi, Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Real Filharmonia de Galicia, Spain’s Radio and Television Orchestra (RTVE), American Ballet Theatre Orchestra of New York, Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, and Bari Philharmonic Orchestra of Italy. His performances have been broadcast on Spanish National Radio and TV, Taiwanese National TV, Czech National TV, as well as on New York’s WQXR, Princeton’s WPRB, and Chicago’s WFMT.
He has recorded the complete works for piano of George Enescu for the NAXOS Grand Piano label and Les Noces by Stravinsky, also for the same label, with Joann Falletta as conductor.

Josu De Solaun is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, where his two main teachers and main musical influences have been pianists Nina Svetlanova and Horacio Gutierrez.

Saturday, February 11, 2017Chamber Music Recital with Clarinetist MARK NUCCIO (principal clarinetist of the Houston Symphony)River Oaks Country ClubHouston, TXChamber music recital for the Houston Symphon Legacy Societyhttp://www.riveroakscc.net

REVIEWS

"Continuing the theme of the Monterey Symphony’s present season — “Concert Grand” — a season that includes in each concert a piano concerto soloist, we had the pleasure of hearing pianist Josu de Solaun returning to perform for us for the third time. Joining Conductor Max Bragado-Darman and the Monterey Symphony musicians, Solaun was soloist in a rarely heard concerto, the Concerto No. in F Major, Op. 103 by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Composed in Luxor during one of Saint-Saëns’ many visits to Egypt and exploiting his use of melodic elements of the harmonic minor scale, this concerto been called the “Egyptian,” and this name is quite appropriate. The first two movements have a hint of things mysterious and exotic, and Solaun produced gorgeous sounding passages and phrases in which he brought out the best qualities of the Monterey Symphony’s Hamburg Steinway. The final movement is a virtuosic, kaleidoscopic toccata that requires fingers of steel and tight control to keep it from running away with itself. Solaun faced off the challenge and succeeded in bringing the concerto to a wildly successful conclusion. The audience acclaim was so enthusiastic he was recalled to perform one encore — one of Debussy’s Preludes, Ondine, which Solaun informed us from the stage continued the ambience of French music heard previously in the Saint-Saëns Concerto. He also added that Ondine depicted a playful and malicious water sprite. In this brief little piece, Solaun demonstrated his absolute and magical control of subtle sonorities and tonal colors. It was gorgeous playing."Lynn BronsonPENINSULA REVIEWS

"De Solaun lets expression lead at all times, no matter how intense the virtuosity. There’s a bouncy vitality to his playing, a warm and intimate approach to phrasing and a beautifully mellow tone. "Jessica DuchenBBC Music Magazine

"In Rachmaninov's 3rd Piano Concerto, there was never any doubt about De Solaun’s technical mastery and he dazzled us with a ferocious last movement, the conclusion of which brought members of the audience to their feet in a frenzy of excited applause."Lyn BronsonPeninsula Reviews

"A story about the forgotten beauty of another world, spoken in almost contemporary key, with classical sparkles, was brought to us by Josu de Solaun from Spain in his vision on the Concerto in B Flat Minor by Tchaikovsky. [...] With depths and refinements where you would not have expected to hear an inner voice supporting a melody, in the polyphonies which he proved to have been in love with ever since we listened to the Enescu Sonata, during the semi-finals, or with aplomb and nerve in the rapid sections of the concerto. In a exceptional concerto, Josu de Solaun can be, at the same time, classical and romantic and contemporary. His mode of thinking is mature, everything is claimed, owned."Sabina UlubeanuGeorge Enescu Festival News

"De Solaun brings a clear authority to the music, which he plays with unassuming sensitivity."Graham LockInternational Piano Magazine

"The afternoon continued with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. This is a piece widely known as one of the greatest piano concertos, not only for its virtuoso demands on the pianist, but also for the emotional depth of its romantic themes. Pianist Josu De Solaun, the soloist in this performance, who, though only 29, is an internationally acclaimed pianist who has already performed in many of the great concert halls in the world. After Solaun walked out on stage, the familiar opening theme of the first movement swept over the hall. Solaun complemented the serene opening with a hint of the colors he would coax from the piano that afternoon. The concerto drove on, and at each break in the orchestra, Solaun was prepared with another feat of virtuosity, his fingers dancing up and down the keyboard. Before anyone knew it, the piece came to its momentous closing, and Solaun jumped from the bench to embrace Bragado before turning to the wildly applauding and cheering audience. Solaun’s performance closed an afternoon that will not quickly be forgotten."Brian BekkerPeninsula Reviews